Hello All,
I felt today was a super day to blog. I was greatly blessed today at work! I am even still excited about my day as I am relaxing on the couch. Full of joy, it is hard to relax!! At the beginning of December, I watched a segment on WREG News Channel 3 called "Pay It Forward." It is about giving back to people who have blessed you and others in many ways. Richard Ransom, the news anchor, gives someone $300 to give to a deserving person. When I watched it in December, I thought about who I would give the money to, if I could. I immediately thought of Rosa at Germantown Elementary. She is our janitor and I chose her for many reasons...She is humble, kind, giving, and hardworking. She comes to school each day with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Our school is always squeaky clean and in tip-top shape....thanks to her. Then, when she leaves work, she often works another job and works on the weekend. Not to mention, she has a husband and three children. I just feel so blessed by her giving spirit and what she does for others without complaining. She has really taught me a lesson...and that is to always have joy in your heart. With that being said, I wrote Richard Ransom an email in December telling him about Rosa. He responded saying that he gets lots of emails and that he would consider it because two other people from GES have written him about her as well! I never heard anything back.
Little did I know...that today he would surprise me, camera in hand, ready to interview me about Rosa.
Our assistant principal opened my door and said "I need to see you in the hallway for a minute." I thought..."Oh, no...I have not followed my schedule perfectly today, I am in trouble!" To my surprise, it was Richard Ransom with a smile on his face. Of course, excitement, shock, and surprise on my face! My face turned bright red as he immediately asked me, "Why did you choose Rosa to pay it forward?" Of course, from that point on, I was just overyjoyed/speechless/nervous/bright red face/etc.....but that doesn't matter...it was all about Rosa at that point....I wanted it to be perfect.
The best part of course was being able to give Rosa $300. Although, I did not say everything I wanted to or probably sounded absolutely country and ridiculous (actions speak louder than words), it brought so much joy to Rosa, and that is what I wanted to do- to tell her how much she is appreciated at GES!! She didn't think it was real, she wanted me to pinch her afterwards to let her know that she was indeed receiving the money! Richard asked her how she will spend it, she said she would spend it on her kids. What a blessing she is to us and what a blessing today was for all involved!
Three lessons learned today- which I also taught my students right after:
1. Always pay it forward to those who deserve it.
2. Actions speak louder than words.
3. It is better to give than to receive.
